Sorbents are used in various liquid spill treatments and are highly effective for cleaning up and/or recovering spilled liquid wastes such as chemicals or pollutants. Depending on the chemical nature of the spilled liquid, the sorbent material may either be hydrophobic or hydrophilic.
In general, sorbent materials can allow for absorption and/or adsorption of the spilled liquid. For absorption, the liquid penetrates into and is physically incorporated into the body of the material. On the other hand, for adsorption, the liquid is largely chemically incorporated to the surface of the sorbent material. In most liquid sorption cases, the action of liquid uptake by the sorbent is through adsorption. The mechanisms that affect the adsorption properties of a sorbent material include the wetting properties of the sorbent material, capillary action of the liquid in the sorbent material, cohesion/adhesion of the liquid as well as the available surface area of the sorbent material, etc.